ALVIN — Belton head coach Brett Sniffin knew his team needed to play as close to mistake-free football as possible to have a chance at extending its season Friday night.

The Tigers managed to overcome one first-half turnover but weren’t as lucky as the game wore along, and the loss of starting quarterback Will Shepard to a lower-leg injury in the second quarter proved costly as Iowa Colony broke open the game after halftime.

The Pioneers built a 19-point lead by the break then grabbed three interceptions in the second half, two of which were returned for touchdowns by Jeremy Garner, as they surged to a 54-14 victory in a Class 5A Division II bi-district playoff at Memorial Stadium.

Belton (5-6) trailed 14-7 early in the second quarter when Shepard ran for a 5-yard gain and a first down to the Iowa Colony 12-yard line as the Tigers looked to bring the game back to even after the Pioneers (10-1) grabbed a one-touchdown lead as time expired in the first period.

Shepard — who was 6-of-7 passing for 69 yards, including a 15-yard TD strike to Gavin Ross — was injured on the play, however, and was helped off the field with 10:46 left in the frame, after which he didn’t return.

Iowa Colony eventually forced a turnover on downs after Belton reached the 3 on a 9-yard pass from Sawyer Harbin to Ross. The Pioneers then got back-to-back touchdown grabs from Jayden Warren on their final two drives of the half to take a 26-7 edge into the locker room.

“We had a lot of fire and the defense was playing pretty good. But when you lose your quarterback, that kind of brought everybody down a notch,” Sniffin said. “It’s no fault of Sawyer. It’s just when you lose the starting quarterback, it kind of takes the emotion out of it a little bit. That set us back and we weren’t able to overcome that.

“We did come out and show we could go toe-to-toe. It’s just it’s a long game and they have to keep playing it.”

The turnover bug bit Belton midway through the first frame, though the Tigers quickly responded in kind to cancel out the miscue.

Following Iowa Colony’s first TD on Aaron Tenner’s 2-yard plunge, Azian Wilkinson coughed up the ball after returning the ensuing kickoff 34 yards, and the Pioneers’ Denim Barnes recovered the fumble near midfield, though Belton’s Anthony Garcia intercepted a Carson White pass two plays later to spark a game-tying drive.

Shepard found Ross — who broke even more program receiving records — three times for 46 yards on the march, including a 15-yard strike to knot the tally at 7 with 1:17 left in the first quarter, though Iowa Colony grabbed back the lead when Warren gathered White’s 16-yard pass in the back-right corner of the end zone as time expired in the initial frame.

Warren had six catches for 144 yards — four for TDs — to pace Iowa Colony, which advanced to the Region III final last year. White was 11-of-17 passing for 234 yards and four TDs before sitting out most of the second half.

Ross, meanwhile, finished the season by gathering 18 catches for 160 yards to break Belton’s school record for receptions in a game and the single-season receptions record. He also holds the career mark for yards receiving.

Ross finished his junior campaign with 111 receptions for 1,481 yards and 12 touchdowns and eclipsed the century mark in yards in 10 of 11 games.

“Gavin Ross is one of the most competitive people I’ve ever been around in my entire life,” said Sniffin, whose team got a 17-yard run from Matthew Sawe to complete its scoring with 39 seconds remaining. “He’s just a baller, and people shouldn’t be jealous of him. They should try to emulate him.”

Harbin finished 16-of-29 passing for 156 yards and three interceptions, including two that Garner took back for 57- and 78-yard TDs, the second of which capped the Pioneers’ scoring and made for a 54-7 gap with 9:20 remaining.

“You can’t throw pick-sixes and fumble on a good kickoff return,” Sniffin said. “We just can’t do that and overcome it, so that put us in a hole for sure.”

Tenner had 130 yards rushing on 17 carries for Iowa Colony, with most of that damage coming in the first quarter when he went for 110 yards on 11 totes.

jbrooks@tdtnews.com